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Kogal
and shortened skirt.]] is a fashion that involves wearing an outfit based on a Japanese school uniform, but with a shortened skirt, loose socks, and often dyed hair and a scarf as well. The phenomenon was prominent in the 1990s, but has since declined. The word "kogal" is anglicized from kogyaru, a contraction of kôkôsei gyaru (high school gal). The girls refer to themselves as gyaru (gals), although this word is applied to several other fashion looks as well. Aside from the pinned-up skirt and the loose socks, or rusu sokusu, kogals favor platform boots, makeup, and Burberry scarves. They may also dye their hair brown and get artificial suntans. They have a distinctive slang peppered with English words. They are often, but not necessarily, enrolled students. Centers of kogal culture include the Harajuku and Shibuya districts of Tokyo, in particular Shibuya's 109 Building. J-pop singer Namie Amuro promoted the style. Kogals are avid users of photo booths, with most visiting a least once a week, according to non-scientific polls.Laura Miller, Jan Bardsle, Bad Girls of Japan, p. 130. While critics condemned the gyaru as shallow, materialistic, and devoted to conspicuous consumption, admirers describe them as, "kindhearted, active young women in exuberant health, the women of today.""のぶかつの部活動　since 1970" Etymology The word "kogal" is anglicized from , a contraction of (high school gal).Miller, Laura, "Those Naughty Teenage Girls: Japanese Kogals, Slang, and Media Assessments", Journal of Linguistic Anthropology: Volume 14: Number 2 (2004). It originated as a code used by disco bouncers to distinguish adults from minors. The term is not used by the girls it refers to. They call themselves , a Japanese pronunciation of the English word "gal." The term gyaru was first popularized in 1972 by a television ad for a brand of jeans."Shiro Gal (Light Skin Gal)" In the 1980s, a gyaru was a fashionably dressed woman. When written 子, ko means "young woman," so kogyaru is sometimes understood in the sense of "young gal.""Osaka - Japan" However, if this was the meaning originally intended, (young gal) would be more logical. (in blackface makeup).]] Character Kogals have been accused of conspicuous consumption, living off their parents and enjo-kōsai (amateur prostitution/commonly dating service). Critics decry their materialism as reflecting a larger psychological or spiritual emptiness in modern Japanese life. Some kogals support their lifestyle with allowances from wealthy parents, living a "parasite single" existence that grates against traditional principles of duty and industry. "The modern school girls' uniform, embellished with loose socks and a cellular phone, has come to be perceived as the dress code for promiscuity, easiness, greed, and stupidity," according to one commentator.Sky Whitehead, "K is for Kogal" Others have charged that the kogal phenomenon is less about the girls and their fashions than a media practice to fetishize school uniforms and blame those required to wear them. "I wish that I were in high school at a different time," said one schoolgirl. "Now, with kogal being such an issue in Japan, nobody can see me for me. They only see me as kogal, like the ones they see on TV." As for the accusation of conspicuous consumption, careful gal shoppers may know a thing or two about fashion that the male journalists and movie directors who accuse them do not. For every high-priced brand-name accessory, there is an off-brand version that goes for a fraction of the price. These are sold at stalls in back-alley markets like ura Harajuku.Miller, Laura, "Youth Fashion and changing beautification practices," Japan's Changing Generations: Are Young People Creating a New Society edited by Gordon Mathews, Bruce White, p. 91. ISBN 0415322278. History Kogals were far from the first generation of Japanese girls who oya o nakaseru (made their parents weep) and inspired salacious media exposés. The daraku jogakusei (degenerate schoolgirls) of the early 1900s violated taboos against dating, while the moga, or modern girl, of the 1920s, adopted Western fashions. The hard-partying "Mambo girl" arose in the late 1950s. Japanese fashion began to divide by age in the 1970s with the appearance of gyaru magazines aimed at teens. Popteen, the most widely read of these magazines, has been publishing monthly since 1980. While mainstream fashion in the 1980s and early 1990s emphasized girlish and cute (kawaii), gyaru publications promoted a sexy aesthetic.Kinsella, Sharon, "Black faces, witches and racism", Bad Girls of Japan, edited by Laura Miller, Jan Bardsley, p. 146. Top gyaru magazines, including Popteen, Street Jam and Happie, were produced by editors previously involved in creating pornography for men. Also in the 1980s, a male-and-female motorcycle-oriented slacker culture emerged in the form of the "Yankiis". The original kogals were dropouts from private school who, instead of lengthening their skirts like androgynous Yankii girls, created a new form of teen rebellion by shortening them."The Misanthropology of Late-Stage Kogal" These middle school dropouts were thus taking their cues from high school students and attempting justify their independence by looking and acting older. The gals added their own touches like loose socks and a cellular phone. Amateurs can create fashion in Japan by dressing up and hanging around places like Harajuku and Shibuya, where magazine photographers may take their pictures.Evers, Izumi, Patrick Macias, (2007) Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno: Tokyo Teen Fashion Subculture Handbook, p. 11. ISBN 0811856909. The 1993 television special Za kogyaru naito (The Kogal Night) introduced the kogal to a mass audience and provided a model for aspiring kogals to follow. Platform shoes were popularized by singer Namie Amuro in 1994.Miller, Laura, "Youth Fashion and changing beautification practices," Japan's Changing Generations: Are Young People Creating a New Society edited by Gordon Mathews, Bruce White, p. 89. Egg, a fashion magazine for kogals, was established in 1995. In the mid-1990s, the Japanese media gave a great deal of attention to the phenomenon of enjo-kōsai (amateur prostitution) supposedly engaged in by bored housewives and high school students, thus linking kogals to prostitutes.Kinsella, Sharon, "What's Behind the Fetishism of Japanese School Uniforms?", Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture, Volume 6, Number 2, May 2002 , pp. 215-237(23) The movie Baunsu ko gaurusu (Bounce Kogal) (1997) by Masato Harada depicts kogals prostituting themselves to buy trendy fashion accessories.Nix, "Bounce ko Gal aka Leaving (1997) Movie Review" "Bounce KoGALS (1997)" Kogal culture peaked in 1998. Kogals were then displaced by ganguro, a gal culture that first appeared in 1999 and used blackface makeup (as opposed to tanning). The deliberate ugliness of the look may reflect a desire to discourage chikan (subway perverts) and men seeking enjo-kōsai. Ganguro evolved into an even more extreme look called yamanba (mountain hag). As looks grew more extreme, fewer girls were attracted to gal culture. Although there are still female students who sexualize their uniforms, the kogal is no longer a focus of fashion or media attention. Gal fashion recently reemerged in the form of the skin-whitening shiro gyaru, associated with Popteen."Gyaru Resurgence", Mekas The hime gyaru (literally "lady gal," also translated as "princess girl") first appeared in 2008 and wears a print dress and sports curly brown hair."Japan's Latest Fashion Has Women Playing Princess for a Day", Wall Street Journal, November 20, 2008. Language Kogals are identified primarily by looks, but their speech, called , is also distinctive. Her boyfriend is an (cool dude) who is naturally (totally cute). She, meanwhile, will gyaru-yatte (do the gal thing) by buying her gyaru-fuku (gal clothes) at a gyaru-kei shoppu (gal-style shop) thereby gyaru-do appu no tame ni (increasing her degree of galness), unless of course she simply cannot find anything that isn't (real super nauseating). In a land obsessed with self-sacrifice and group identity, the gals proclaim, biba jibun (long live the self). Gals words are often created by contracting Japanese phrases or by literal translation of an English phrase, i.e. without reordering to follow Japanese syntax."コギャル語＆ギャル語辞典" Gal words may also be created by adding the suffix ''-ingu'' (from English "-ing") to verbs, for example (getting). Roman script abbreviations are popular, for example "MM" stands for maji de mukatsuku (really disgusting). "MK5" stands for , meaning "on the verge of [lit. five seconds away from] going ballistic." Another feature of gal speech is the suffix ''-ra'', meaning "like" or "learned from," as in (like singer Namie Amuro). Media Kogals appear in the movie Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003). The Ribon manga Gals! chronicles the life and times of Ran Kotobuki, "the greatest gal in Shibuya.“ Published 1999-2002. It spawned a 52-episode Japanese/English dubbed anime series named "Super GALS! Ran Kotobuki". Episode six in the third season of BBC's Japanorama documentary series covers kogal, ganguro (blackface), and yamanba (extreme blackface) "bad girl" culture. A Japanese drama titled Gal Circle prominently features gals. Usamaru Furuya - "Short Cuts (manga)" (1998-99). See also *Modern girl * Essex girl * Valley girl * Bimbo * Enjo kōsai * Trixie References Further reading * * Complete list of Gyaru GAL styles with photos. * "Those Naughty Teenage Girls: Japanese Kogals, Slang, and Media Assessments", by Laura Miller. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology: Volume 14: Number 2 (2004). * Metropolis – Feature – "No heels, no life" * Discussion of Japanese High School Girls and the poetry they inspire External links *"Girl student very cute" That's a matter of opinion, but she is a classic kogal with a shortened uniform skirt, dyed hair, scarf, and loose socks. *"Bounce Ko Gals (Title Sequence) from the movie Baunsu ko gaurusu (1997) by Masato Harada. Category:Japanese words and phrases Category:Japanese subcultures Category:Japanese society Category:Slang terms for women de:Kogal es:Kogal fr:Kogaru it:Kogal ja:コギャル ru:Когяру